In continuing to review werewolf movies in chronological order, we're still at 1981 with probably the most obscure one yet, one that I didn't even know of its existence till a few weeks ago when I saw it listed on Wikipedia before then finding it on YouTube. It seems to mainly be inspired by the Michal Landon-starred I Was a Teenage Werewolf as Adam Arkin plays a teen named Tony (like Landon) and it takes place during the late '50s (like IWATW) but then moves on through the years (as exemplified by the changing of the presidential portraits though the one after Carter was meant to be a joke) before Tony comes back to his high school of the title to once again play football having not aged during that time. I'll stop there and just say while I was pretty amused much of the time, there were also many places where I wondered if maybe it could have been funnier. I did like the scenes involving Ed McMahon as Tony's father and Adam Arkin's real dad-Alan-as an insulting shrink. Oh, and also the scene involving his new girlfriend and her tying up Tony in bed was also fun in an adult humor kind of way. So on that note, I say give Full Moon High a look.

One of those films you can guess the entirety of simply from the title, this disjointed movie from Larry Cohen is definitely one of his lesser films. It's kept watchable through the sheer level of gags on offer (often with lots of sight jokes that are very missable if you're not concentrating) although most of the one-liners are excruciating. A better than average cast do their jobs well even though their characters are limited to doing/saying mainly one thing. Sadly the low budget often shows, with the film cutting away from the action on more than one occasion, and also in the ridiculous werewolf makeup which reaches new lows in tackiness (seemingly a riff on I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF's makeup but with hardly the same impact).

Adam Arkin is the good-natured high school boy who is turned into a werewolf while blundering in Romania. From then on, he turns into a wolf basically every night (bizarre moon cycles then) and is stalked by a mystery violinist who pops up at every occasion and quickly becomes repetitive. His mad father (played hilariously by Ed McMahon) believes that a nuclear bomb will explode at any minute and is ready to take refuge in his bunker. An inordinate number of homosexuals are also present at Full Moon High to admire Arkin, giving plenty of room for lots of jokes and laughs in the men's locker room! The film's highlight undeniably has to be a cameo by Arkin's father, Alan, as a loud-mouthed shrink who attempts to make a man stop from committing suicide by hurling abuse at him! Otherwise, this is strictly business as usual, and pretty cheesy in a bad '80s kind of way, complete with absurd fashions and silly dialogue. With only a few funny bits and a lot of complete nonsense, I would recommend this to nostalgia buffs or Cohen fans only.

This was a great flick with a lot of top names in it. It spoofs werewolf movies and asks the question, "What is wrong being a werewolf if you don't kill anyone and become immortal?" The nymphomaniac teacher, over sexed wife, girlish-son, hard nosed shrink, a gay football coach, John Bircher dad, over sexed vegetarian make for colorful characters in this wonderful well written comedy. The dry humor of Arkin delivering his lines in a dead-pan fashion added to the enjoyment. After being gone for 20 years Tony (Arkin) returns to find his old girlfriend married. She wants to be immortal with him, and wants to know if he could spend eternity with an "older woman." to wit Arkin replies, "I don't know. Have you seen the movie 'Harold and Maude'?"

In Romania Arkin is being stalked by a werewolf and tries to get help by knocking on farmhouse doors shouting, " I am an American and I need some help." After someone throws a pan of water in his direction, Arkin continues to knock on doors asking for help saying, "I am a Canadian and I need some help."